


odds are stacked against us (but I don't give a damn)

by wolfwithpanthereyes



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drinking & Talking, Established Relationship, F/M, M/M, Minor James T. Kirk/Spock, the prime versions that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfwithpanthereyes/pseuds/wolfwithpanthereyes
Summary: Spock and Kirk keep getting mistaken for soulmates. Bones and Uhura talk about it.





	odds are stacked against us (but I don't give a damn)

“Third time this month,” McCoy offers as an explanation when she finds him in the ship’s bar. He holds up a bottle of Scotch. “Drink?” 

Uhura shouldn’t, but she slides onto the stool beside him anyway. “Sure.” 

He pours her a glass, his surgeon hands steady despite his flushed cheeks. Uhura has known McCoy since their early Academy days, when they met infrequently at bars and Kirk would inevitably flutter his eyelashes in her direction while she rolled her eyes. After a few of these encounters, McCoy took to lightly smacking Kirk over the head whenever he tried a new pick-up line on her and Uhura couldn’t help but be amused. 

It’s been years since then. Uhura cups the glass in her hands without making an effort to lift it, the ice within chilling her fingers and helping her feel human, and says “It _is_ getting to be a bit annoying, isn’t it?” 

McCoy grunts his agreement. “You’re tellin’ me. I’m half expecting Jim to come to me at any moment, saying sorry but he’s gonna go hook up with the green-blooded computer now. No offence,” he hastily adds. 

“None taken,” Uhura replies, and lifts the glass to her mouth. “But maybe we’ll stick to calling Spock by his name, yes?” 

“Yeah, ‘kay.” McCoy at least has the decency to look sheepish. 

Uhura has been having similar thoughts herself. Illogical thoughts, to use one of Spock’s more common phrases, and yet she can’t shake them off. Particularly this last planetary exploration. Spock had beamed down with Kirk, Chekov and a few redshirts, and a few hours later they returned to the ship with colourful flower wreaths strung around their necks and Chekov nearly doubled over with laughter. “Another marriage ceremony!” The Russian had managed to say, once it had been established he was laughing entirely of his own accord and not due to some outside influence. “They thought the Keptin and First Officer were meant to be!”

Spock had presented the flower wreath to Uhura without comment. Kirk had worn his as he checked on the brig, blowing kisses towards Spock whenever his back was turned and playing it off like a joke. 

Uhura hadn’t realised she was plucking the petals from the wreath until Spock pointed it out to her.

Now, Uhura tips the scotch down her throat and grits her teeth as the burn of it nearly sends her coughing. As a rule she usually steers clear of the heavy stuff. McCoy shifts in his seat, suddenly looking on the alert, but she waves a hand dismissively. “I‘m fine,” she manages. “I can’t remember the last time I drunk anything harder than wine.” 

“You worried about it too?” McCoy says, untensing his shoulders and reaching for the bottle again. “I mean, this affects your…” His mouth moves to make a ‘V’, but he amends it at the last moment. “Your partner too, not just Jim and me.” 

Uhura hesitates. She hasn’t spoken about the connection so many people seemed to believe Spock and Kirk shared to anyone other than Spock himself, and when she did he would simply frown, as if he had never considered such a possibility. From anyone else, Uhura wouldn’t have accepted it as sincere assurement; from Spock, it was more than enough. 

And yet… 

“Yes,” she mutters, staring down at the condensation left on the bar’s surface. She draws a silver-painted nail through the rings. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do. After all, all these planets mistaking them for bonded pairs, soulmates… all the universes we’ve seen where they stand at each other’s sides…” 

“Jim told me,” McCoy says suddenly. “Our first mission, that business with Nero, when Jim got kicked off the ship and met old Spock? Apparently old Spock went and mind-melded with him and - well, Jim said that old Spock loved old him, and those feelings were mutual. And then Jim told me he was delighted he was never gonna feel that way about _our_ Spock, but that was years ago.” He lowers his voice, not looking at her. “I don’t want to ask him if he still feels that way, ‘cause I’m worried what his answer will be.”

“Leonard.” Uhura reaches over, touches the back of his clenched hand. She understands. Oh, how she understands. She hadn’t known about Spock Prime but she had long suspected it, ever since Spock showed her the locket Spock Prime had entrusted him with. The holo within was of Kirk Prime; a jovial old man with hazel eyes and a voice that could have commanded the stars, and the message was one of such tenderness that Uhura had known instantly the relationship that passed between the Spock and Kirk of that original universe was one for the ages. 

But this Kirk, the one in their universe, his eyes were as bright as a summer sky. If such a small thing could be different, why not other things? 

“Their eyes are different,” she says, voicing her thoughts. “Our Kirk and the Kirk from that original timeline.” 

Leonard’s hand twitches under hers and he glances up, meeting her gaze. “How d’you know?” 

“Spock Prime talks to my Spock often enough,” Uhura says by way of explanation. No need to bring up the locket and what it represents. “The other Kirk - his Kirk - his eyes were hazel.” 

“Makes sense that the only person Spock’d wanna talk to is himself,” Leonard mutters. 

Uhura smiles despite herself. “So if that can be different, why not other things? Spock chose me in this universe. Kirk chose you.”

“I’d appreciate it a bit more if we didn’t stop running into things that claim otherwise.” 

“It’d definitely be nice,” Uhura says with a nod. “But we’re fine here.” The words are as much for her own comfort as Leonard’s. “They’d tell us otherwise. Spock is terrible at hiding things.”

“Amen to that,” Leonard says, with an upward twitch of his lips. “We’ll just have to give ‘em both good enough reasons to stick with us.” 

“Us existing is reason enough,” Uhura counters. 

“I’ll drink to that.” He raises his glass to her, and she clinks it with her own.

**Author's Note:**

> Found this buried in amongst a pile of my unfinished WIPs and was somewhat surprised to see it complete, considering I remembered beginning this fic but not finishing it. 
> 
> Title is from StarCrossed by Jon Vinyl (which I haven't actually listened to, oops, I just googled 'starcrossed lyrics' and found this line appropriate)


End file.
